Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Argyle -- it's not just for socks anymore!

I believe that I may have mentioned that I may be somewhat fond of thread. I have actually bought thread and then had to go find fabric that matched it! Has anyone else ever done this?

I have decided to make a quilted Argyle bag because, hey, why not? Follow along and make one of your own!

I started with a piece of black fabric for the front of the bag, approximately 10 x 12 inches. I chalked an 8 x 10-inch rectangle on the fabric with marks every one-inch on the top and bottom and every two-inches on each side:



Top thread: InvisiFil thread
Bobbin thread: InvisiFil thread
Needle: size 14 (since InvisiFil is a 100 weight polyester thread, I chose a small needle)
Stitches per inch: between 10 and 12

I layered backing, batting and velvet on my longarm machine and basted around the edges. I put my ruler base on my machine (safety first!) and stitched a few loops on the side of the fabric to make sure my top tension was correct.

Using my ruler, I stitched between the marks:



Remember that your hopping foot is 1/4" away from your needle. To compensate for this, I positioned my ruler 1/4" away from the mark. When I stitched, the line hit the point perfectly!

Stitch from point to point, following the diagrams below:


Diagram 1:

Diagram 2:


Diagram 3:



Diagram 4:











(All of the marked points will not be used during this step.)



Once I stitched all of the lines, a series of diamonds emerged:


A different way to stitch diamonds is detailed in my book, Beyond the Lines.

Next Wednesday, I'll add some color (think Tiffany's!) to this Argyle bag.

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